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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23210599">Loyalty Binds</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/drugsandcaandy/pseuds/drugsandcaandy'>drugsandcaandy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Grace is....something else, Smut, i feel so bad for both of them don't @ me, i'm only tagging as noncon bc grace is using her powers, or so it's implied, poor Cordelia tbh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:40:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23210599</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/drugsandcaandy/pseuds/drugsandcaandy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was possible all of this was accidental.</p><p>It was also possible Grace was enjoying it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Grace Blackthorn/Cordelia Carstairs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Loyalty Binds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>thank and/or blame my friends becca and em for this. they picked the prompt, i wrote it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was possible all of this was accidental.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was also possible Grace was enjoying it. She would never admit it, but there was something captivating about Cordelia.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She'd set out to seduce the other girl simply to break apart her and James's engagement. It was not a part of her mother's plan, after all, and she did what her mother told her to. She was a pawn in a much larger game, that was all. She'd known this for as long as she could remember. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't difficult, really. Cordelia was surprisingly pliant for a girl who seemed so strong-willed. It took Grace nothing more than a few glances and batted eyelashes before Cordelia's mouth was under hers, the other girl pinned against a wall in an abandoned corridor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But James…" Cordelia began as Grace pulled at the hooks at the back of her dress. This was the first time they'd truly been alone together, sneaking off to an empty bedroom during a ball at the Institute, and Grace knew exactly what she must do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You mustn't stay faithful to a man who doesn't even love you, Cordelia dearest," Grace muttered, pausing her attempts to remove Cordelia's dress nonetheless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pain in Cordelia's eyes was clear. Grace felt a pang in her chest, entirely unfamiliar. She ignored it. Cordelia kissed her, tangling her hands in Grace's hair, and Grace's plan progressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hadn't expected to enjoy it as much as she had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Physical pleasure was physical pleasure, but it went beyond that. Grace was used to putting her assets to good use: men were easily swayed by the promise of a beautiful face and an uncorrupted body. She knew what to do, how to act innocent, how to give them what they wanted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia was different from the beginning. She was the inexperienced one, looking to Grace to show her what to do. She was insistent on Grace enjoying it, something no man had ever given a second thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She surprised (if not horrified) herself by wanting it all again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They agreed to meet at the Institute's next party. Seeing as the holidays were approaching, it didn't take long for an opportunity to arise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia waited for her by the same bedroom. She wore a deep blue dress, her hair falling free of its pins, and Grace had to stop to catch her breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all wrong. She wasn't supposed to feel anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulled Cordelia into the room and kissed her before she could think too much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia unlaced Grace's dress, pushing it off her shoulders. Grace stepped out of it, casting it aside. Wrinkles were a thought for another time. Cordelia stepped out of her own dress and Grace marvelled at the skin revealed, running her hands over Cordelia's shoulders and down her arms. Cordelia shivered, pulling her toward the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Off came corsets and camisoles and petticoats. Grace struggled with the garters on Cordelia's stockings, her fingers shaking. Cordelia laughed and undid them herself. It was a sound Grace wasn't expecting to hear, particularly not during </span>
  <em>
    <span>this. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt the same strange pang in her chest. Yet again she ignored it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia shifted, flipping their positions so she was on top of Grace. It was strange to have someone on top of her that wasn't a man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(It was infinitely better, but she refused to acknowledge that fact.) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia kissed a line down her body, starting at her jaw, trailing down to her neck, her shoulders, her chest; her hands ghosting over Grace's breasts. Grace arched into the touch, pulling Cordelia closer to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time Cordelia had worked her way down Grace's body to settle between her legs Grace was close to begging. She briefly wondered how on earth she'd allowed herself to get to that point, but all coherent thought disappeared at the first touch of Cordelia's tongue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She'd learned quickly, Grace had to admit. She bit her bottom lip to stifle her gasps, threading a hand in Cordelia's hair and urging her on. Cordelia planted a hand on Grace's hip to hold her in place. It was strange, allowing her to have so much control. Even when she was with men, they were never in control. They only believed they were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yet Grace would've done anything to make Cordelia continue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia didn't stop, though, and Grace found herself unable to contain the smallest whimpers as pressure built between her hips. She shook as her orgasm hit, Cordelia working her through it, stopping only when Grace twitched away out of sensitivity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia kneeled next to Grace, stroking her hair out of her face. "Grace?" she said, her voice soft. "Are you alright? You seem a million miles away."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grace nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. She felt entirely too much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turned her attention to Cordelia instead, urging the other girl's legs apart, trailing her hand down her body. Gooseflesh rose on Cordelia's skin. She clung to Grace as Grace's hand moved between her legs. Grace grinned and slid down to where Cordelia had knelt only minutes before. Cordelia's hands fisted in the sheets, gripping them so hard her knuckles turned white. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grace closed her eyes. She refused to consider why her heart was beating so quickly. The act itself, she told herself. Nothing else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn't long before Cordelia was shaking and gasping. She repeated Grace's name like some sort of prayer, unholy on her lips. Grace moved faster, her fingers and mouth relentless until Cordelia reached her high. Grace rolled next to her, lying on her back, and stared at the ceiling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn't be feeling anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"This must stop someday," Cordelia said softly once she caught her breath. "I'm engaged to James. And you are engaged to Charles."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grace nearly laughed. "It isn't as if he loves you, or Charles loves me. It is all meant for other gains. Don't pretend otherwise." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia sighed. "I cannot say whether Charles loves you. But James is a good and kind man, and I cannot bear the thought of hurting him. He is my </span>
  <em>
    <span>parabatai's </span>
  </em>
  <span>brother. His family has been good to me. I will not betray him any longer." She pressed a kiss to Grace's forehead, her lips soft. "Perhaps someday you will find someone who can truly love you." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cordelia dressed and left Grace still staring at the ceiling. She felt as if she might scream. She felt nothing at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would ruin them, she vowed. The Herondales and the Carstairs. It was her plan all along, after all, wasn't it? She'd simply find another way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would be the blade her mother had always intended her to be.</span>
</p>
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